TER, my tact in asking questions is bad but my intent is good.
For my 8th Gen Civic a Majestic Auto Honda OEM flywheel is $236 plus shipping/9th is $196. At a dealer expect more. I change my own so I am OK resurfacing but I don't where to get an new $80 flywheel unless you mean used.
Honda Automotive Parts
A brand new flywheel for the 03-11 Element is listed on Rock Auto for $49.79. I paid $78 at NAPA. It's a direct fit to the 8th and 9th civic Si and the kit for the 8th Si bolts right on. It's 14.5 lbs.
Again, not me or mine, but people have had Honda refuse to do clutches without stock flywheel replacements. I would advise them to find another dealer but normally Honda has your car in pieces when they tell you.
A customer doesn't get a bad clutch job and immediately assume that they got a defective or improperly machined part, they just assume that the shop botched the job. It's a lot less headache to just use all new parts and pass the cost on to the customer.
If given a choice, you would select an OEM 16 lb flywheel vs. a 11 lb or 9 lb flywheel because..... Not cost. But......??
Let's look at the cons of having a lightweight flywheel (<75% of the stock weight):
-It will exponentially shorten the service life of your engine, especially if you have forced induction.
-It will make the car more difficult to drive at low speeds.
-You will stall more often if you have the radio volume up, are talking on the phone, or having a conversation with a passenger.
-You will have to slip the clutch more from a stop, making the clutch wear out faster.
-It will make the car more noisy and uncomfortable at higher engine speeds.
-It will make the car more difficult or impossible for others to drive in an emergency.
-It will make the car more difficult to sell or trade in.
-You won't be able to teach others to drive a stick in your car.
-You need to run a FlashPRO, so it won't pass California emissions.
-Other things I'm not remembering right now.
And the pros:
-It will make your car read a higher horsepower on a dyno.
-it will make the engine rise and fall through the rev band more quickly.
-It's easier to
flatfoot-shift and to
heel-toe.
-It will make a
dog box last longer, and those things are pricey.
-It makes the tires less likely to break loose on a launch.
-It makes your car lighter.
-It makes your car even more difficult to steal.
-Street cred.
-Other things I'm not remembering right now.
So if you care more about things in list 2 than list 1, you should go light.
I have never used a 8 lb aluminum flywheel (?do they have different contact surfaces?)
The aluminum flywheel has a steel friction surface that is bolted on with countersunk screws and nuts on the back. The friction surface is around 3/16" thick and is made of tool steel. The ring gear is also steel and is pressed on and either screwed in place, or sometimes it has little steel tabs welded on that fit into grooves on the aluminum part to keep it from moving (since steel and aluminum expand at different rates). The pressure plate bolt holes have helicoil inserts in them. The kit usually comes with a big steel plate that all of the crankshaft bolts go through so the bolts don't bite into the aluminum.
So all of the parts that do anything are made of steel anyway.
but many autocrossers like the fast rev/fast rpm drop and find it more responsive to rpm matching when downshifting seeing as you aren't trying to bring the giant sawmill flywheel to a stop.
Yup. But how many of the
really good drivers daily their cars?
I went for a middle of the road 11 lb unit. It does not stall.
Great. As long as you're satisfied. The K20 has a shorter stroke so it needs a little less flywheel for compression.
